[NTLUG:Discuss] What's the deal with Java?

[Lance Simmons]

* Leroy Tennison <leroy_tennison at prodigy.net> [050626 21:44]:
> Concerning OpenOffice.org v2 I saw the comment that Java wasn't free and 
> it's causing a stir.  I can download a Java runtime free, right?  I 
> presume that the full-blown Java development package isn't free but I 
> don't need that to run OpenOffice 2 (using the java dependent features) 
> do I?  So what's the big deal?

>From the Free Software Foundation website:
http://www.fsf.org

> Free software is a matter of liberty not price. You should think of
> "free" as in "free speech".

> The Free Software Foundation (FSF), established in 1985, is dedicated
> to promoting computer users' rights to use, study, copy, modify, and
> redistribute computer programs.

See also "The Free Software Definition", which includes much more
detail.
http://www.fsf.org/licensing/essays/free-sw.html


I'm sure Sun's Java runtime is not free to modify or redistribute, and
the freedoms to use, study and copy Java may also have restrictions on
them.  (You'd have to read the Sun license carefully to find out.)

Some people are working on getting OpenOffice 2 running with a free (in
the "free speech" sense) Java compiler:
http://www.fsf.org/news/open-office-java.html

-- 
Lance Simmons